Device for supporting infants



Dec. 8, 1970 D. L.SCHORKEN 3,545,016 v DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING INFANTsFiled June 8, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR DOROTHY L. SCHORKEN BY WhamATTORNEYS Dec. 8, 1970 D. L. SCHORKEN ,0

7 DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING INFANTS 7 Filed June 8, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR DOROTHY L. SCHORKEN ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,545,016DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING INFANTS Dorothy L. Schorken, 3629 Frederick Drive,Ann Arbor, Mich. 48105 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No.412,781, Nov. 20, 1964. This application June 8, 1967, Ser.

Int. Cl. A47a 3/12 U.S. Cl. 4185 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Adevice for supporting an infant during bathing in which the infant isstrapped to a platform and a head rest is pivotally mounted relative tothe platform for movement between an upwardly inclined position forsupporting the infants head when the infant is supported on his back onthe platform, a downwardly inclined position for supporting the infantshead during hair washing, and a substantially horizontal position whenthe infant is supported on the platform on his stomach. Leg brackets areremovably mounted on the device at either end so that the end of thedevice can be supported in a stabilized position on the partition in adouble tub sink so that the device can be used for bathing purposes inthe kitchen sink.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No, 412,781, filedNov. 20, 1964 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A number of devices are presently availablefor use in bathing infants. Some of these devices include a bag orreceptacle within which the infant is placed for bathing. These devicesare usually filled by emptying containers of water into the bathingreceptacle or by improvising a temporary hose connection to a faucet. Atube or hose forming a part of the device is used for draining the bathwater into a sink or bathtub. The whole process is tedious, timeconsuming, and the bathing device itself is bulky and difiicult to foldand store after use without dripping water on the floor. Moreover, sucha device provides no effective means for holding the infant duringbathing and the attendant is therefore unable to use both hands forwashing purposes.

The family bathtub is a convenient place for bathing infants, and anumber or prior art devices have been advanced for adapting theconventional bathtub to the particular requirements of an infant.However, these devices often lack any means for preventing the infantfrom rolling off into the water in the bathtub. Another importantdeficiency of such devices is their inherent inability to accommodate aninfant for bathing in either the face-up or face-down positions.

It is also desirable in many instances to be able to use theconventional double tub kitchen sink for infant bathing purposes sinceit then becomes unnecessary to bend over in order to bathe the infant.U.S. Pat. No. 2,505,252 discloses a device for use in bathing infants atthe kitchen sink. However, the device disclosed therein is inadequate inthe headrest area because it provides only a fixed rest without any sidesupport. The disclosed device makes no provision for infant comfort,does not provide for turning the infant over and in general does nothave the versatility required for fully bathing an infant. Also, U.S.Pat. No. 3,132,897 shows a baby chair bed having a backrest movable to ahorizontal position. However, such a device is inadequate for infantbathing purposes in that it does not disclose a headrest movable to adownwardly 3,545,016 Patented Dec. 8, 1970 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thedevice of this invention includes a pair of substantially vertical sidesupport plates on which a platform is mounted in a substantiallyhorizontal position. Restraining straps are mounted on the platform, andthe side plates extend above the platform to prevent an infant fromrolling off a supported position on the platform. A headrest pivotallymounted adjacent one end of the platform is movable between an upwardlyinclined position, a substantially horizontal position, and a downwardlyinclined position. In the first upwardly inclined position of theheadrest, it supports the infants head in a comfortable position whilethe infant is back supported on the platform. In the second position,the headrest is conveniently located when the infant is stomachsupported on the platform. In the third position, the headrest providesa support for the infants head while his hair is being washed so thatthe water can run off the headrest to the drain, A latch assembly on theheadrest engages the side plates for firmly supporting the headrestagainst downward movement in each of these three positions. In either ofthe two lower positions, however, the latch assembly permits theheadrest to be moved upwardly to another position without separatelyreleasing the latch. In addition, restraining brackets are provided sothat they can be releasably assembled with either end of the deviceenabling support of the device on the center partition in a double tubsink. Each restraining bracket has downwardly extending portions whichstraddle the partition so as to provide a stabilized support of thedevice on the partition to thus prevent accidental movement of thedevice while the infant is supported therein.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improveddevice for supporting infants during bathing.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following description, and appendedclaims, and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the device of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device of this inventionas seen from substantially the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing the headrestin its upper position in solid lines and illustrating the intermediateand lower positions thereof in broken lines; I

FIG. 4 is an end view of one end of the device of this invention, withsome parts broken away and other parts shown in section for fullyillustrating the latch mechanism and showing the stabilizing bracketsapplied;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view showing the device of this invention withthe stabilizing brackets applied to one end of the device so as toprovide for the support of the device on the partition in a double tubsink; and

FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 1 showing the brackets on the opposite end ofthe device.

With reference to the drawing, the device of this invention, indicatedgenerally at 10, is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 as including a pair ofside members 14, illustrated as being of flat generally upright shape. Aplatform 16 which is substantially horizontal is secured to the sidemembers 14 between the top and bottom edges 12 and 13 thereof. Anintegral leg rest 18 is fixed to the side members 14 and forms anupwardly inclined extension of the platform 16 at one end of theplatform 16. A headrest 20 at the other end of the platform 16 ispivotally mounted so that it is movable along an arc designatedgenerally by the arrowed line 22 in FIG. 3. A latch assembly 24 coactswith the headrest 20 and the side members 14 to releasably fix theheadrest 20 in a desired one of the three positions illustrated in FIG.3.

Each of the side members 14 is preferably made of relatively thin rigidplate or sheet material such as plastic and is of a length sufiicient toaccommodate the infants body from head to toe. The side members 14 aregenerally vertically oriented each having a higher head portion whichaffords constraint against lateral or sideways movement of the infant,in any position of the headrest 20. The platform 16 is'substantiallyrectangular in configuration and is fabricated from a similar plate orsheet plastic material. The positioning of the platform 16 between thetop and bottom edges 12 and 13 of the side members 14 permits the upperportions of the side members 14 to extend above the platform 16 toprevent the infant from rolling off the platform 16. A plurality ofdrain openings 28 are formed in the platform 16 to allow the washingwater which has been applied to the infant to drain away.

The leg rest is rectangular in configuration and is also made of plateor sheet plastic material. The slope of the leg rest 18 relative to theplatform 16 facilitates drainage of water from the leg rest 18 to thedrain openings 28. The headrest 20 is also generally rectangular inconfiguration, having upturned edges 21 for directing water thereontoward the ends of the headrest, and is preferably made of plate orsheet plastic material.

The headrest 20 constitutes a longitudinal continuation of the platform16 and is mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis locatedsubstantially at the adjacent end of the platform 16. As best appears inFIG. 4, a pair of bearing blocks 30 are secured to the under side of theheadrest 20 adjacent the platform 16 and are provided with lateralopenings which receive the shank portions of a pair of bolts 32. Thebolts 32 extend through the side members 14 and are secured in positionby nuts 34. The headrest 20 is thus pivotal about the shank portions ofthe bolts 32 which constitute the horizontal axis referred to above. Atits side edges, the headrest 20 is slightly spaced from the side members14, as shown in FIG. 2, so that the side members 14 will not impede freepivotal movement of the headrest 20.

The latch assembly 24 for adjusting the pivotal position of the headrest20 includes an elongated flexible rod or wire 36 having a U-shapedcenter portion 38. The wire 36 is slidably supported in brackets 40secured to the under side of the headrest 20. Each end 42 of the wire isattached to the bottom end of a flexible L-shaped bracket 44 secured tothe under side of the headrest 40. Each bracket 44 terminates in a cammember 46 which extends toward the adjacent side member 14. As shown inFIG. 4, each cam member 46 has inclined top edge 48 and a substantiallyhorizontally disposed bottom edge 50.

Each of the side members 14 is provided with three slots 52 disposed onthe arc traveled by the latch members 46 during pivotal movement of theheadrest 20 between the positions illustrated in FIG. 3. The L-shapedbrackets 44 are stressed so that they normally urge the latch members 46toward the side members 14 and into one pair of horizontally alignedslots 52. The latch members 46 can be withdrawn from any pair of slots52 by manually grasping the U-shaped wire portion 38 so as to pull thewire ends 42 toward each other as shown in broken lines in FIG. 4. Thus,to move the headrest 20 from an upper to a lower position, it isnecessary to first withdraw the latch members 46 from a pair of slots52, then move the headrest 20 to a position in which the latch members46 are aligned with the next desired pair of slots 52, and release thewire portion 38. When the latch members 46 extend into a pair of slots,they positively lock the headrest 20 against downward movement by virtueof the substantially horizontal position of the lower edges 50 of thelatch members 46. Thus, in any position, the infant is firmly supportedagainst falling. However, the headrest 20 can be conveniently raised bymerely lifting the free edge of the headrest. When the headrest israised, the inclined latch member edges 48 cam against the side members14 at the upper ends of the slots 52 so that the latch members 46 areautomatically urged inwardly against the pressure of the brackets 44.During upward pivotal movement of the headrest 20, the latch members 46ride on the inner sides of the side members 14 until they are alignedwith the next pair of slots 52.

A waist strap 50 is secured by rivets or the like to the platform 16adjacent the side members 14 so that the strap is adapted to overlie theinfant and prevent lateral or sideways movement of the infant. Aconventional buckle '56 on the strap 50 facilitates its attachment aboutthe infant. In addition, a longitudinally oriented crotch strap 58 issecured at one end to the legrest 18 by a rivet or the like and isconnected at its opposite end to the strap 50 by means of a loop whichreceives the middle portion of the strap 50. The strap 58 is alsoadapted to overlie the infant and prevent longitudinal movement of theinfant particularly when the infant is supported in a semi-seatedposition such as when the headrest 20 is in its solid line positionshown in FIG. 3. A waterproof pad 60 is illustrated mounted on theheadrest 20.

The device 10 can be placed directly in the bathtub 62, as shown inbroken lines in FIG. 3, after which the tub is filled with water to alevel slightly below the horizontal plane of the platform 16. Thisprovides an adequate amount of water for bathing the baby and alsoallows for drainage of water from the baby through the drain openings28. The infant is placed on the platform 16 in either a face-up orface-down position and secured with the straps 50 and 52. The movableheadrest 20 allows the baby to be back supported in a semi-seatedposition in which the baby is most comfortable. If desired, the headrest20 may be moved to its intermediate position in which the baby iscomfortable in both back and stomach supported positions. The strap 50is buckled to secure the infant so that the attendants hands are bothfree for washing purposes.

When it is desired to wash the infants hair, the headrest 20 is moved toits downwardly inclined position shown in FIG. 3 so that the infantshead is slightly inclined downwardly away from the platform 16 on whichhis body is secured. When the infants head is washed, the headrest 20provides for a flow of water away from the infants head thus preventingsoapy water from getting into the infants eyes. Thus, regardless of theinfants position, his head is safely supported on the headrest 20 at oneend and running water is drained away from his face. After the infanthas been bathed, the unitary device 10 can be raised from the bathtub 62with the infant securely retained therein by the strap 50. The infant isthus fully supported for drying so that at no time is the attendantrequired to struggle with a wriggling, soapy child. The device 10 canthen be wiped dry for convenient storage.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the device 10 is also equipped withremovable stabilizing brackets 70 arranged in pairs at either end of thedevice 10, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each bracket 70 consists of alength of rod or wire bent to form prongs 72 at its ends which extendsubstantially horizontally, and downwardly extending horizontally spacedprojections 74 connected at their upper ends by a cross brace 76. Pairsof holes 78 are formed in each side' support 14 adjacent its ends.

In FIG. 5, the prongs 72 are shown extended through the openings 78 atthe end of the device 10 adjacent the legrest 18. This enables the endof the device 10 at which the legrest 18 is provided to be supported onthe center partition 80 in a double tub sink assembly 82. In thisposition of the device 10, the drain openings 28 are above one of thetubs 84 for convenient draining. The projections 74 on the brackets 70straddle the partition 80 so as to positively prevent shifting of thedevice 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the brackets 70 can also be mounted on theopposite end of the device and supported on the platform 80 so that theheadrest will incline toward the tub 84 when the infants head is beingwashed. The assembly of the brackets 70 with the device 10 enhances theversatility of the device 10 because they enable its safe use With adouble tub sink assembly 82 in bathing an infant. This is advantageousin that it often enables infant bathing without stooping on the part ofthe attendant. It is to be understood that while the brackets 70 aredesigned for assembly with the partition 80 in a double tub sinkassembly 82, they may be used with other similar partitions.

From the above description it is seen that this invention provides animproved infant supporting device in which the infant is firmlysupported in a variety of positions necessary for complete bathing byvirtue of pivotally movable headrest 20. The device can be used in avariety of environments, and the stabilizing brackets 70 cooperate withthe movable headrest 20 to enable bathing at lo cations such as thedouble tub sink assembly 82.

It will be understood that the device for supporting an infant duringbathing which is herein disclosed and described is presented forpurposes of explanation and illustration and is not intended to indicatelimits of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. A device for supporting an infant during bathing comprising:

a pair of horizontally spaced-apart side support members,

a platform having a pair of ends and being provided with drain openings,said platform being secured to said side support members in asubstantially horizontal position and in spaced relationship to the topand bottom edges of said side members so that the portions of said sidemembers above said platform prevent an infant supported on said platformfrom rolling off said platform and the lower portions of said sidemembers spacing said platform above a supporting surface,

a headrest mounted on one end of said platform for pivotal movementabout a substantially horizontal axis between a first position inclinedupwardly with respect to said platform and a second position inclineddownwardly with respect to said platform, and

coacting releasable latch means on said headrest and said side membersdefining said two headrest positions. 2. A device for supporting aninfant according to claim 1 wherein said coacting releasable latch meansalso defines a third position of said headrest intermediate said firstand second positions and substantially aligned with said platform.

3. A device for supporting an infant according to claim 1 wherein saidlatch means includes:

cam-shaped latch members having straight bottom sides and inclined topsides, means resiliently mounting said latch means on said headrest andurging said cam members toward said side members, and means formingslots in said side members at positions aligned with said cam members insaid inclined positions of said headrest. 4. A device for supporting aninfant according to claim 1 further including stabilizing bracketsremovably mounted on said side members adjacent one end thereof, each ofsaid brackets having downwardly extending horizontally spaced portionsadapted to straddle a partition on which said end of said side membersis supported.

5. A device for supporting an infant according to claim 1 wherein saidheadrest is of generally flat plate shape having upturned edges locatedadjacent to and spaced from said side support members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 279,241 5/1883 Krill 297355X1,702,284 2/1929 Thien et al 297355 2,203,223 6/1940 Kennedy 4177UX2,285,900 6/1942 Chapman 4185U 2,463,049 3/1949 Onsa 4-159 2,495,4821/1950 Rogatz 4-185UX 2,760,208 1/ 1956 Mussells 4'177UX 2,771,12411/1956 Borsani 297337X 2,928,457 3/1960 Welsh 297322 2,947,350 8/1960Davis 297355 2,978,013 4/1961 McIntyre 297355 3,049,376 8/ 1962Rosenthal 297322X 3,235,306 2/1966 Chernivsky 4185UX 3,252,734 5/1966Berlin 297322X LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner D. B. MASSENBERG,Assistant Examiner

